News

At the annual meeting in May, the following people were elected to office: Chief Terry Engles; Assistant Chief, Courtney Fowler; President, Tim Witte; Vice President, Jeff Ohlmann; Secretary-Treasuerer, Guy Tielke; Safety Officers, Jeff Sayer and Luke Grubham; Captains, Ross Brockley, William Beel, and Tadd Buechle; Training Officer, Andy Dawson.

Unbeknownst to the world, the perfect storm was setting up. In time, the repercussions of that storm would spill over impacting people in one way or another. Youth would have difficulty navigating the unknown of the pandemic; think of all of the things that were once within their control...now stripped away, as well as changing from day to day. As adults, our heads were spinning, imagine what was going on for the youth.

The Sandhills Prairie Refuge Association will be sponsoring repairs of the turtle fences along Highway 83 through Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. The plan is to work June 11-14. The group is looking for people who can work one or more days on the project. The fences, built to reduce road kill on the highway, are in need of repair due to high water, ice, and vehicle collisions. SPRA has raised funds to purchase 250 feet of chain link fence to replace damaged sections. SPRA will also host a cookout with a speaker following work on Saturday June 11. Volunteers will get a Blanding’s turtle T-shirt. If you would like to volunteer, contact: sandhillpra@gmail.com with the day or days you will volunteer and a notice of the meeting place, time, and what to bring will be sent to you.

Jesus uses many ways to get a hold of His children. Lead singer Joseph Rojas was a four time convicted felon, with a $400 a day cocaine habit with suicidal thoughts. He shared his testimony Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at the Cherry County Fairgrounds.

OMAHA-Communities across the five state DEA Omaha Division, which includes Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, demonstrated their support for DEA’s annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day by dropping off 18,729 pounds of unneeded medications at 176 collection sites on April 30. Nationally, DEA collected more than 720,000 pounds of medications at 5,144 collection sites. Since 2010, DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has collected nearly 16 million pounds of unneeded prescription medications.

Valentine Middle School students have been planting trees all over Valentine for many, many years under the direction of Julie Dewing. It was when Big Rock Fire took place in 2006 that planting efforts were focused on replanting the beautiful Ponderosa Pines, hackberry trees, and other hardwoods that were lost during that terrible fire.

The philosopher-physician Richard Cabot makes a convincing case in his book “What Men Live By” that we all need four things to live a full and genuinely good life: work, play, love, and worship. And while this book was written more than a hundred years ago, the simple truth remains that we all need a modicum of work, play, love, and worship, and in the right balance, to be truly fulfilled as human beings. Men and women deprived of work grow anxious and depressed, and often turn to drugs or other forms of escape to fill their idle hours. Wise parents and good schools inculcate good work habits in their children early on. But all work and no play takes the zest out of life and all of us need some form of recreation, whether it be sports, games, or music and art, or any of the infinite variety of things that might be considered play. And who can live without love? While it may be possible to physically survive without love, a life without love is emotionally and spiritually impoverished. We are social animals, and the glue which holds us together is love, in all its forms. Finally, there is a need to recognize, and indeed to praise, some higher power. Some of us pray only in our hour of need, but all of us pray at some point in our lives, and have a hope based on faith that there is a higher power and a future life. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34 NIV

While many Nebraskans are eager to enjoy Memorial Day weekend boating, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission urges them to be wary of pesky hitchhikers that invade the state’s waters. To prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, Game and Parks watercraft inspectors will be checking boats before they launch at lakes around the state.

LINCOLN – Nebraska’s April revenue receipts are out, and the results are record-smashing. The State’s gross receipts for last month were over one billion dollars, at $1,185,536,454, and net receipts were at $939 million. At $375 million above projections, April 2022 marks the largest net revenue increase in state history.

LINCOLN – The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Nebraska’s preliminary employment for April 2022 reached an all-time high of 1,040,325. This means nearly 22,000 more Nebraskans are working now than prior to the pandemic (February 2020). Additionally, Nebraska’s unemployment rate is at 1.9 percent. That’s tied for the lowest rate ever achieved by any state.